Omertà
by Moonlith
Summary: One wrong move during a mission, and everything comes crumbling down.
1. End of an Era

Disclaimer: I do not own Black Lagoon.

_**Omertà**_

By Moonlith

Chapter One: End of an Era

Dusk had settled over the dark waters surrounding the equally dark city of Roanapur. With the moon on the verge of the horizon and about to go down, surrendering the pitch black sky to be enlightened only by countless of stars, it was bound to be a clear and good night.

It had been one heck of a day for the Lagoon delivery company, overall. Doing dangerous jobs in illegal business in a manner almost comparable to freelance, one surely wouldn't expect things to go smoothly always to begin with. But even against this frame, business hadn't indeed been so good for the four mercenaries on the last few occasions. And the job they had been assigned and left to do earlier that day had proved itself to be continuing the long list of those gigs that had brought an unpleasant amount of trouble in their wake.

At first, it had sounded fairly simple and easy, really. To pick up an old painting from a sunken World War two German submarine for a Spanish antique collector. The water area in which the submarine had sunken was now an itching controversial question for far bigger executives than the poor crew members of Black Lagoon. This, on the other hand, provided an excellent chance for scavengers like them to sneak in and snatch their prey without anyone noticing. The risks involved with the mission were fairly low as well, with only the possibility of a few rotten corpses causing a scare for their squeamish novice, Rock. To top it off, Rock would also get to pursue his interest towards scuba diving again after a long time. Work and fun combined while making a healthy amount of money in the process, there was a tickling sensation in the air that the mercenaries would finally get the job done without any unwelcome surprises.

But as fate would have it, this was not to be the case. No sooner had Benny made the arrangements to relax and observe at the same time the movements of Revy and Rock, who had been sent to fetch the painting, when he noticed something suspicious a few hundred yards away in the open sea. Further examination proved that it was another ship, and very much larger than theirs at that. Not only larger, though, but more heavily armed as well, as the Lagoon crew members soon learned when the sudden visitors launched several missiles at them. In order to secure themselves from any serious harm, Dutch and Benny were left with no options but to retreat. As for how Revy and Rock were supposed to make it, well, in situations like this, "every man for himself" was the most convenient creed to follow, they figured.

After a series of unfortunate events, the four members of the Black Lagoon did manage to get together again. Given the situation though, the reunion wasn't a happy one. Their raid prolonged and not expecting any additional company, Rock and Revy were forced to deal with the other group of treasure hunters consisting of zealous neo-Nazis. Soon finding themselves in an underdog position, the two set the saving of their own arses as their top priority, leaving the painting and other valuables behind.

Now being in a position where no more failures could be allowed due to the many recent fiascoes, the Lagoon traders were short of options for their next course of action. It was quickly decided then: the painting had to be retrieved by any means. To the nazis, this would mean a rude and bloody interruption of their party on their ship. Revy and Dutch on the other hand considered themselves to be in for a load of fun, given the compensation it would be to get their revenge along with the painting. So, Dutch and Revy would raid the enemy ship, and with Revy's enthusiastic agreement, the deal was sealed.

* * *

Rock found his only female coworker on the deck of the boat. Dutch had tasked him with feeding the redhead before they would set off to their crusade, and now Rock found her sitting near the bow of the boat. Having her hair freed for once from the hair tie she usually wore, her tresses were now gently swaying in the night breeze. Her gaze fixed on something in the distance and a lit cigaret hanging absently between her lips, she appeared to be lost in thought.

"Revy", Rock broke her daze with a simple call of her name.

After receiving an equally simple acknowledgement for his presence, the Japanese man continued:

"Here's dinner. Dutch says you should have something to eat".

As Revy offered no reply, he finished:

"I'll leave it here."

With the silence continuing to linger in the air, Rock decided to try his luck before leaving:

"If this is about what happened in the U-boat...", he began, referring to both their dark mannered conversation they had had in the dim submarine as well as to Revy's even glummer appearance that seemed to be the result of it.

Revy, however, didn't seem to be too eager to talk about the subject, as she wasted no time before cutting in:

"Rock, that's over now. There's no reason to go through it again, now is there?"

The heavy, even sinister tone in Revy's voice was enough of a clue for the young Japanese ex-businessman to drop the matter as he a bit timidly stammered his agreement and left.

Revy continued to sit in silence. A ferocious hunger indeed gnawed inside of her, but the hunger she felt wasn't one to be satisfied with even the most delicious of foods. No, the target of her craving was far beyond those of normal human needs. Whether it was due to the unusual confrontations she had had with the Japanese man recently or something else entirely, she did not know nor did she care. As Revy started to prepare herself for the upcoming mission, her thoughts slowly shifted to the blissfully unaware future victims in the Nazi ship. Tonight her hunger would be satiated with a feast, a feast reeking of blood and carnage.

* * *

"You seem glum. Did something happen with Rock?" Addressed the Afro-American leader of the Black Lagoon his companion.

The two of them were now seated in a small motorboat en route to the Nazi ship. The low roar of the boat's engine was the only sound filling the air for a moment, until at last Revy gave her single-word answer:

"Nothing."

The tone in the woman's voice left little doubt whether she was willing to continue the conversation, and thus the rest of the way was carried out in silence, the noises of celebration in their destination growing ever louder.

* * *

Dieter staggered his way to the deck of the ship, the cacophony of the crew's celebration fading as he reached the open air. He had escaped the partying for a moment to seek brief respite, eager to have a few lungfuls of the brisk night air. His wobbly steps came to a halt, however, as he noticed an alien anchor attached to the railings. Drunken as he was, the meaning behind the intrusion did not escape him. But he was only beginning to form the first shouts of warning when a click of a gun behind his head told him that he was already too late.

"And the first little piggy came to it's end", he heard the cold female voice teasing, and the two ensuing gunshots ended his life then and there.

Barely even listening the instructions Dutch were giving her, Revy began to make her way down the nearby staircase deeper into the ship. An ominous look in her eyes and both of her guns cocked in her hands, she was already in the mindset for mayhem and ready to fill her appetite.

Leaving behind large pools of blood everywhere she went, Revy had now found her way to the cockpit of the ship. Kicking the door open and immediately leveling her guns at the occupants of the room, she caught the crew members by surprise. Extremely threatening as she looked, one of the men came up to her holding his hands in the air and desperately trying to convince her not to open fire at them, pleading to the fact that they were just hired outsiders. He was granted with a punch in the face and bullets in both knees. Revy was about to end his agony by putting one in his head as well when there came a sudden interruption.

She caught a glimpse of movement in the corner of her eye, but wasn't quick enough to dodge the monstrous hand grabbing her by the shirt. The black war veteran looked very angry.

* * *

"What _the hell_ are you doing!?" Roared Dutch as he slammed his comrade fiercely against a wall.

"Hey, just starting some shit as you told me, Dicky boy. Making bloodbaths is exactly what we do, right?", said Revy, in a taunting tone without any regret.

Needles to say, Dutch was not pleased with this, as he went on:

"A gunman is a professional. One who goes with his moods is just a bloody shooter. I thought I hired a professional, Revy. Outside of work, it's all your decision if you go on rampage, but if you happen to fuck up when we are on job, it's a bit of a problem for me too. Just be cool as a cucumber, Revy, and if you can't put up with that, you might just as damn well climb on top of a church and shoot down idiots."

Instead of amusement, Revy started to grow fairly irritated herself as she retorted:

"So now even you're going to give me a lecture, eh? Don't make me laugh."

Dutch didn't back down as he gave his final statement:

"Of course, Two-Hands. I'm your employer, after all.", to which Revy gave humorless laugh.

Then, slowly, both of them drew their guns. As if this wasn't bad enough of a sing that their argument had gone too far, they suddenly pointed their guns at each other. For a split second, the insanity of the situation finally hit Revy: one of her legendary Sword Cutlasses, which had so many times brought terror and death to her enemies in the past, was now pointed directly at one of her few oldest true friends.

Then, a gunshot. Only one.

For a moment, the scene was overtaken by a grave silence. A slender line of bitter smoke rose from the end of Revy's handgun. Dutch whispered her name in a voice heavy and hoarse with agony and disbelief as the nasty crimson stain in the chest of his shirt grew wider and darker. With all life quickly draining from his body along with his blood, Dutch fell on his knees in front of Revy, staining his partner's shirt in his blood as well. His energy spent, Dutch collapsed on the deck as the last sparkle of life escaped from his body. The renowned Vietnam War veteran was no more, and all that was left of him was an enormous heap of dead meat.

And then, all hell broke loose. The nazis had managed to pull their fronts back together. Being now pursued on either side and left with no time to think, Revy automatically let her instincts take over and made her escape. Seeing that the ship was now entirely crowded with nothing but enemies, Revy was left with no solution but to launch the flare gun they had taken with them to give a sing to Rock and Benny to come and pick them up. Only now it was just her who would leave, she accidentally let the bitter thought cross her mind. Bullets flying from every direction, she had absolutely no other route for escape but jumping overboard.

The coldness of the ocean water that now enclosed her was enough to cool down the heat of battle and survival instinct in her body, giving way to the shock and horror of what she had done. As the choking feeling of anxiety grew in her chest, Revy tried to convince herself that the stinging in her eyes was solely due to the salty seawater around her.

* * *

As soon as Rock and Benny noticed the flare that was shot to the sky from the Nazi ship, they knew what to do. Benny hurried to start the engines while Rock stayed on the deck to observe further events. It had been quite a stressful night for the two men as their mellow nature prevented them from participating in the violence. They had spent the whole evening in an uneasy atmosphere, talking little and not knowing how to settle down as the concern for their companions dominated their thoughts every moment. Now that the situation seemed to be over, both of them hoped from the bottom of their hearts that everything had gone well.

When they arrived at the scene, the view that greeted them was disquieting and did little to soothe their worries. Several guns were still blazing, and for a moment they didn't have any idea as to where their fellow partners might be. Then, almost by a miracle, they caught Revy in the spot of their searchlight on the deck. Arms flailing in the air and frantic shouts escaping from her lungs, Rock was quick to aid her out of the water while Benny rushed to start the engines.

"Where's Du..." The question died on Rock's lips as he noticed Revy had already ignored him completely, the fiery redhead now dashing to open the hatch leading inside the boat.

Quickly Rock followed her there, only to hear her hysterically shriek a command to Benny:

"GET US THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!!"

Completely stunned, Benny began asking, as if on a reflex:

"But what about Du..."

The same question got cut off again, only this time with an actual answer, confusing and hard to understand as it was:

"Dead, dead, dead, DEAD, DEAD!!", Revy continued to shout, her own agony taken the form of a tantrum.

No further questioning was possible as the gunfire directed at them from the other ship indicated that it would indeed be better to act now and do the talking later. So without further inquiring, Benny turned the boat around and accelerated to full speed, leaving the enemy ship far behind.

Now safe from imminent danger, the want for escaping was still screaming in Revy's mind. To escape from Benny, from Rock. From herself, as the confusion and horror of the events of the night threatened to overwhelm her. Doing the only thing she could think of at the moment, Revy grabbed as many cans of beer as she could find lying around and isolated herself into one of the boat's empty cabins. Quickly she proceeded to pouring the warm alcohol down her throat, hoping that it would blur at least the sharpest edge of the haunting thoughts away.

So it continued; one of the longest nights of young Rebecca's life.

* * *

A/N: This will be a short story of maximum five chapters in total. Comments will be welcomed with open arms.

Moonlith


	2. The Day After

Chapter Two: The Day After

As impossible as it seemed in light of the previous night's events, the sun did rise the following morning. It appeared to have no qualms of doing so, no pity nor courtesy for the mourning Lagoon members who had been reduced from four to three just few hours before. By showing up like innumerable times in the past, it proved yet again the undisputed might of the circuit of life, thus forcing Rock, Benny, and Revy to face a new day. A day which fully dragged out the fact that the heart and soul of their delivery company, their recognized leader and almost a father figure, the Vietnam War veteran Dutch was now gone.

But as much as there was sadness, confusion was an equally strong feeling in the air, especially for Rock and Benny. Revy's extremely aggressive and intimidating appearance had long since taught other people the valuable lesson of not to approach her when she was, to put it mildly, in a bad mood. Nevertheless, the lack of Dutch's return from the Nazi ship and the hasty and shocking explanation Revy had given them forced Rock and Benny to seek proper answers. Apparently the situation had made even Revy to understand this, and so she had provided Rock and Benny a brief recap of last night's unfortunate events.

It would be a sick joke to say that Revy's words "Got caught in a crossfire, he's dead now" had brought any ease for their minds as they had hoped. However, the very late hour coupled with the fact that they hadn't slept in days pushed them to the conclusion that it'd be best to deal with the matter later. "Come morning, and we will be able to look at this with clearer minds", they thought to themselves.

Well now the morning had come, and their hopes of being able to face the terrifying facts any better after a few hours of restless sleep were proven empty. As each of the remaining Lagoon members opened their eyes, reality immediately slapped them in the face. The sun's blazing rays struck their eyes through the windows, adding to their shock. Indeed waking up to a new day felt like a cold shower for each of them despite the burning heat outside. Slowly and hesitantly Rock, Revy, and Benny proceeded to the difficult task of climbing out of their beds, and one by one they gathered to the living room of their office.

* * *

By any means, the delivery company of Black Lagoon was not a merry entourage of close friends. Though not operating under strictly formal business manner either, the crew members had firmly kept their total independence and privacy and thus had a certain amount of acknowledged distance between each other. True enough, they regularly participated together in leisure time activities usually consisting of drinking in their preferred hangout of the bar of Yellow Flag, where they either relaxed after a successful job or made preliminary plans for a future one.

But whereas being totally capable of discussing work related issues easily, they never engaged in conversations about their personal matters. Perhaps some loose small talk of basically nothing in particular would occur from time to time, but it was always shadowed by the unspoken contract of not digging in topics of unnecessary depth or bringing up something too personal. Each of them had their dark pasts of hardships and sorrows, and that in it's simplicity was all that they needed to now of one anothers' backgrounds. The code of silencing about them was not out of hostility, it was out of understanding that it would do no good to snoop on painful memories.

That was until just a few months ago, when the lives of the Lagoon members had received an upside down blow. A blow which was delivered by their newest member, Okajima Rokuro, or Rock, as they had named him.

The former Japanese businessman hadn't brought the change by outrunning even the shadiest characters of Roanapur in felony or even proving himself to be at least a decent villain among them, quite the opposite in fact. In his tidy and proper business attire, the kindred spirit had almost seemed like a deer among jackals by striving to solve arguments diplomatically with words instead of weapons. The fact he succeeded in this, along with the surprising quality of being able to provide noteworthy ideas and insights on their missions on occasion, had quickly aroused the attention of the Lagoon company as well as their main employer Balalaika. One would consider it rather shocking, but in the end it came quite naturally that what had started as a mere Stockholm syndrome ended up as a permanent post as their new sailor.

Given the feature of having a higher standard in morals and not letting unpleasant issues left unhandled, which tended to irritate especially Revy, it wasn't surprising to see him making the first attempt to restore contact and order between them after the recent tragedy.

"Good morning", he began, the quiet and hesitant tone of his voice doing little to lift the atmosphere.

Benny remained silent, occupying himself with the task of preparing them the first cups of coffee with tired and downcast countenance. Revy slouched on the couch, bent forward with hands clasped at the back of her head. To Rock, she looked like a desperate hostage whose life was at stake. If only he had the ability to read minds, he could've seen just how close he'd hit with his silent observation, on a mental level at least.

Seeing their reactions, or lack thereof, Rock was overcome by a rush of embarrassment, understanding that pretension was useless.

"C-come on, guys, it's not like this is the end of the world! W-weren't we supposed to be relentless mercenaries, n-never looking back and..." Rock hastily tried to cover himself, his voice shrill and the words stumbling out of his mouth uncontrollably.

His obviously visible agony was greeted with a raw cut off from Revy, her tone cold and foreboding:

"Rock...shut the hell up", the words dropped into the silence, soon to be accompanied by loud sobs as the Japanese man broke down to his knees .

Revy was not a woman of high tolerance for such signs of weakness. With an exploding anger she kicked the table before her, sending it flying across the room. Fuming, she took a few quick steps towards Rock, yanked him halfway to his feet and growled:

"You sniveling shit. Relentless mercenaries my ass, you sputtering such words looking like that only shows that you really don't know shit about the lifestyle the rest of us have been leading here."

Revy's sudden outburst had left Rock terrified, and now he listened with eyes firmly jammed shut as the woman went on.

"And not only that, but your bitchy whimpering just screams that you're not even halfway there yet. So since you're clearly invalid of even pretending to be a tough guy, shutting your pie hole and keeping it that way is a start. That, along with getting a grip of yourself and picking your sorry ass up that fucking floor, is the only good thing you can do at the moment, _soldier_." Revy finished, mockery evident in her last choice of word.

Deep silence settled over the office. Rock's loud sobs had died down, and now only a few irregular and quiet moans escaped his mouth. He was still wretched on the floor with Revy standing before him. Her outburst had drained most of the anger and frustration out of her, and now the exhaustion and feeling of defeat returned in full. Benny hadn't moved a step from his spot, but now the downturn in his posture revealed him to be equally crushed by the confrontation. The clock on the wall ticked away long seconds, and the sound it's pointers made echoed in the stillness . Finally Revy broke the daze by releasing a quick snort and taking her leave. Rooted on their spots, Rock and Benny continued to share the silence. A few moments later, the distant yet loud sound of the door to Revy's room slamming shut reached their ears.

And so the morning passed on.

* * *

Her room was in a state of downright chaos. The bed lay unkempt on the opposite wall across from the door, sheets tattered and the blanket a lone bundle on the floor. With the blinds of the room's only window shut, the rest of the space face blissfully consumed by darkness. What small light was admitted to the room made the varying objects scattered across the floor be visible only as vague forms. Several articles of clothing littered the floor, clean and dirty alike. Nutritional commodities consisting mostly of alcoholic drinks and packages of junk food lay everywhere at hand's reach. Piles of boxes that housed enough weaponry to make the terminator look tame in comparison rose from the floor, reaching such heights that they looked ready to fall over at the slightest disturbance. A single broken ventilator was located near the ceiling to fight off the heat.

After storming away from Benny and Rock, Revy had managed to reach at least the most tentative mood of relaxation. Now she found herself slumped on the bed and promptly getting lost in her mind.

When she had tried her best to fight back, Revy was forced to realize that no amount of alcohol or any other efforts were enough to chase the horrifying images away. The only thing the last night's drinking excursion had resulted in was an awful hangover which did little to soothe her nerves. Now there was nothing she could do anymore, nobody else around her to yell at. Having lost all escape routes and the darkness of the room as her sole companion, Revy gave in to the stream of thoughts.

_Goddamn it. _

It was the first thing to surface from the depths of her mind, and although she knew it would take a lot more complicated inner struggle to clear the mess in her head, it was a start..

_One hell of a riot I've indeed put up this time. Just to think I'm now stuck with a computer geek and a spineless wimp as my coworkers. Way to go Two-Hand, on your way to the fucking limelights you are..._

Bitter yet shallow thoughts shot across her mind like lightnings. Subconsciously it was the easiest way to begin her long and hard contemplation, but soon the unpleasant lack of certainty and doubt for her actions the night before started to creep in.

_Dutch..._

Revy felt suddenly an odd burning in her eyes and exhaled heavily. She pushed it back, however, and shook her head rapidly in denial.

_Motherfucker, tried to shoot me.._

_Or did he?_

_He drew his gun, for Christ's sake!_

_Yeah, in order to surprise those Nazi fuckheads who were approaching us. Assholes, probably thought they were really smart or something, like their footsteps could've gone unheard even by a deaf granny._

_He was just going to assault them and thought you'd play along. What happened to your supposed chemistry, huh, Rebecca?_

Again, a violent shake of the head. It was not easy for her to consider she herself had made a mistake, especially as grievous as it had been if Dutch had indeed all along attempted to fire at the enemy instead of her.

_Stick to the freaking facts now, Revy. You were both pissed and barking at each other, and then he drew his cannon, directing it right at your face. You saw a threat, and with an instinct and nature of a gunman, you took the threat down. Fair enough. _

_And besides, what's done is done. Only weaklings surrender to wallowing in the past and worrying over things beyond their control, and you sure as hell aren't one of them, you know that._

But as soon as she had offered herself these comforting thoughts, they began to ring in a sound of malicious false in her head.

Revy was not a woman of long lasting patience either, and as the often advised method of calming down had failed her, the built up frustration came gushing out.

Not even noticing the hot tears streaming down her cheeks, Revy cried out the longest litany of curses in her life and grabbed a small chair from beside her bed. Allowing her limbs to act on impulse, she cast the piece of furniture right through the window. With all obstacles from it's way now suddenly gone, the sun threw it's light into the room, exposing in full the wreckage of both the room itself and the hostess of it. The beams of the sun struck her eyes and bore all the way to the back of her skull, causing Revy to cower in pain. Lying on her knees, she rested her arms on the bed and buried her teeth in its mattress. Full of anger towards herself for letting her emotions take the better of her, Revy gripped on the resolve to suppress her sobs the best she could.

* * *

Once the distasteful episode earlier in the morning had passed, Rock and Benny had both settled down in their own ways.

After finding himself in a desperate need to take his mind off of the encounter with Revy, it hadn't taken long for Rock to see just the right opportunity to do so. Being true to his organized and neat nature, the Japanese man proceeded gradually to the table Revy had knocked over and lifted it back up. Then he began to pinpoint the items that had been on the table and scattered across the floor. Kneeling down once again and carefully starting to pick them up, he let his gaze wander through the room.

The office of the Lagoon Company was a plain sight overall; a fitting testimony for their unglamorous business.

A set of ugly and worn-out blinds covered the windows, effectively preventing any additional light from entering the office. Decorations on the decadent walls consisted of a white note board with a map of the area, a telephone and a single framed photograph portraying a mundane beach scenery. Down in one corner lay an ordinary flowerpot, the plant it sheltered withering and forgotten. Strange wooden bars separated the kitchen from the rest of the office. Some necessary pieces of furniture were located at the center of the room, while in one corner sat a lonesome chair seemingly out of place and without purpose. _Just like me_, Rock thought to himself.

"Are you okay?"

Benny's question snapped Rock out of his reverie. He had finished his task and sat down on one the couch. Having his hands idle again he had been involuntarily sucked back in to the sorrow ridden thoughts, and now he was greeted with the sight of Benny offering him a hefty mug of steaming and comfortingly odorous coffee.

"Ah, thank you", Rock accepted the drink as the other man took seat opposite of him. Benny let out a content sigh, obviously finding the dark brown liquid very soothing after all the agonizing incidents To Rock's slight surprise, the blond man found it in himself to even offer a few comforting words to lighten the mood.

"Try not to let Revy's antics get to you. She's just simply as devastated as we are, if not even more so. That just now was only a part of how she normally deals with this kind of stuff. If anything about her can be considered as _normal _in the first place, that is." He finished, attempting a small joke at the end of his speech.

"Y-yeah, I suppose" Rock gave a brief laugh, if for no other reason than to express his gratitude for Benny's effort to cheer him up. Truth to be told, Rock wasn't quite yet in the mood for any sort of jesting. But he wanted to show he really appreciated the way Benny at least tried to act as if the world itself hadn't ended, that they could overcome this.

After being kidnapped by the crew of Black Lagoon, it hadn't taken long for Rock to understand each of their roles in the team. Dutch was immediately recognized as the boss, and not only for being the biggest in the pack by size. He had led the operation with a natural talent, locating the disk he'd been sent to collect without any extra effort. What little opposition Rock had displayed was quenched with a boulder-like fist. Having accomplished his mission, the senior war veteran wrapped up the show by tactfully instructing the hostages and not forgetting to mention their torpedoes in case any of them were to show resistance.

Invigorating the business was Revy, the primary gunman of the group. Fiery as she was by her temperament unlike Dutch and Benny, Revy would've preferred violence over Dutch's more diplomatic approach. Continuing her wayward behaviour, she'd been the one to make the fateful decision of taking the hapless Japanese man hostage. But when the same hotheaded woman had proved to be the most reluctant one of them to talk about personal matters, Rock had concluded that under her hard shell Revy was actually the most wounded one out of them all.

And then there was Benny. The blonde green-eyed man with glasses was the neutral one between the fierce young woman and the composed war veteran, lacking the steely nerves of the latter yet not quite sharing the fiery nature of the former either. He was the group's most regular one, and when Rock had made his first attempts at casual conversation with his captors, Benny was the one from whom he had received the most response. He and Rock were also in common in the way that neither of them were ever inclined towards violence; an aspect which the Japanese man found very appealing.

Rewinding his observations and interactions with his fellow coworkers, Rock was left with the same conclusion he had reached before: though not exactly a soul mate, Benny was the one he had the most similarities with. And amidst the disarray the Black Lagoon was now under, he was grateful to have a neutral and even understanding person like him around.

But just as Rock was about to voice his musings, the content silence between them was shattered by the sharp jingling sound of shattering glass and Revy's scream.

* * *

Upon hearing the disastrous noises from Revy's room, Rock and Benny shot up from their seats to see what had happened. But as soon as they jerked the door to Revy's room open, the said redhead's rude demand for them to leave sent them right back. As the two of them stood outside her room, however, it occurred to them that they could not let it continue like this. They were all upset and shocked for what had transpired, of course, but they also realized that getting stuck on the matter did nothing for them. Despite their individual privacy, they were still a team, and a team had to work together in order to maintain its capability.

Ignoring the horrendous sounds of rampage issuing from the gunwoman's room, Rock and Benny opened the door to confront their vital comrade.

"We need to talk", greeted Benny softly yet firmly as he stepped in.

As if on an unverbal response, a glass ashtray Revy had thrown crashed against the door frame right next to Benny's face. Miraculously the blond man managed to bring up his hands to shield his face in time, and the tiny splinters of glass fell harmlessly enough on the floor. Seeing that at the moment there was no chance for peaceful reasoning with the woman, Rock and Benny resulted to uncharacteristic methods and surged forward. Benny managed to grab hold of both of Revy's wrists and quickly he drove her against a wall, pinning her hands above her head. Before the fuming redhead would use her superior physique to fight him off, Benny decided to seek her attention by roaring her name loud enough to cut through her rage.

As Revy ceased her struggling for a fragment of a second, Benny decided that now was the time to try and talk with her, in vain as it would probably be.

"Revy, listen. I understand that-"

"You say you _understand_, huh? I'm afraid you don't, four-eyes, since you fail to get that I'm a bit pissed and don't want your company right now", Revy hissed vehemently, cutting off the blond man before he could even properly start.

Benny was not surprised at the quick retort, in fact he was happy he'd even gotten the chance to open his mouth. Making sure not to let anything in his voice that might provoke the other even further, Benny composed himself and continued:

"Believe me, Revy, I can see just fine that you are upset, I might even go as far as to say you should be. But, you see, me and Rock are no different; what happened last night weighs on us just as much. So since we're all in the same boat in that regard, how about we stop this madness and try to come up with a solution?" Benny finished, immensely relieved that he'd gotten to say what he wanted without interruption.

Revy, her seething cooled to mere anger, regarded the man with a cold glare.

"If you would first release me, and then we'll see what'll come next." She spoke in a tone so icy and ominous that Benny came close to shuddering. Deciding that the woman had calmed down enough and really seeing no other options, Benny slowly complied.

Rubbing her wrists, Revy spoke again with a voice encouragingly close to her usual haughtiness:

"Well then, Benny-boy, since you were the most eager to concoct brilliant solutions, why don't you let us hear your take on the matter first, hm?"

Ignoring the sarcasm in Revy's words and instead rejoicing that she was willing to co-operate, Benny wasted no time in announcing the first reasonable sounding idea that came to his mind:

"We should go tell the news to Miss Balalaika. She is our main employer after all, and it'll be awkward if she approaches us with a new job or something without even knowing what's happened. Besides, she and Dutch were somewhat close, as far as I understood it."

Silence reigned over them as each contemplated Benny's idea. Seeing how vital business partner the Russian Mafia icon had been to them and her deeper camaraderie with their own leader, now deceased Dutch, taking the word to her in person seemed wise enough. As the sings of approval were given, with Revy snorting and making for the door while Rock gulped and vigorously nodded his head, the three of them departed to see the grim Miss Balalaika.

* * *

The streets of Roanapur were the same as they had always been, painfully contradicting to the drastic change that Dutch's demise had brought for the remaining Lagoon members. In one corner, a group of shabby men were gambling. Apparently an argument had arisen, for one of them had pulled out a small handgun and was now pointing it at one of his friends, eliciting the rest of them to do likewise. Soon the scene had turned into an all-out fight. Street vendors advertised their goods with loud voices, the steps of dozens of pedestrians pulsated on the streets while the ever-present wailing of police sirens cried in the background. The setting sun painted the entire scenery in fiery crimson, signaling the forthcoming night and the city's awakening to its true colors of darkness and death.

Benny, Revy, and Rock drove their way through the all too familiar cityscape, with Benny behind the wheel and the two others occupying the backseats. No words were spoken as the uneventful journey continued in complete silence. Even though the group had managed to agree upon a course of action, it didn't mean that they were any closer to relaxed speaking terms. Each of them mulled over their thoughts their own way, with Revy resting her chin in her hand and looking outside with disinterested eyes, Benny keeping his eyes on the road and seeming to concentrate on driving alone, and Rock pressing against the door in his usual manner, gaze fixed on the ground.

Finally they arrived at their destination as the headquarters of Hotel Moscow began to loom ever closer. Regulars as they were in visiting the place, Benny didn't have to do but stop briefly in front of the gates and the guard standing there nodded, admitting the three of them into the courtyard. There they were stopped yet again as one of the many grim-looking and armed members of Hotel Moscow approached and inquired for their business. They simply requested an audience with Miss Balalaika, and after a brief phone call, the three of them were allowed to proceed into the interior of the building.

"Welcome, my friends. What might be the reason behind this sudden visit? And pray tell, where have you left our dearest Dutch?" Balalaika, the head of Hotel Moscow, chirped happily as they entered. The usually very intimidating Russian woman was sometimes prone to such informality when dealing with her closest business partners, especially with the crew of Black Lagoon. From time to time Balalaika displayed even something akin to a motherly care towards them, and as the Lagoon members discovered to their chagrin, now was one such time.

"Dutch is dead", Revy decided to crush the carefree atmosphere with a blunt statement, almost as if making sure that none of them would forget why they had come in the first place.

But apparently Balalaika's mood wasn't so easily shaken, for the blond woman didn't seem to take any of Revy's words for what they were.

"Come, now. Spare me the tricky guessing games and spill it. The three of you are here, surely you wouldn't leave your head behind. Besides, I might have another job for you, and that cannot be discussed unless Dutch is present." Balalaika went on, her tone being that of mild amusement mixed with light scolding.

The three remainders of Black Lagoon. stood uncomfortably, all of them seeing the Russian woman's good weather, all of them understanding just how sickeningly warped the situation was, yet none of them ready to forcibly break the atmosphere. Rock kept fidgeting in place, his eyes set on a distant corner of the room. Benny bit his lips hard, looking anywhere but Balalaika, while Revy stood impatiently with arms akimbo. In a stroke of both good and bad fortune for all of them, Revy's tolerance for pretense reached its limit and she lashed out, stomping her foot on the floor:

"For Christ's sake, sis, how many times do you want me to say it? Dutch-is-dead! Six feet under, kicked the bucket, out cold, take you fucking pick, just...damnit!" Revy trailed off, one hand balled to a fist at her side while the other was busy scratching the top of her head furiously.

The outburst was enough to cut the message through. Silence descended. A silence so profound that the Lagoon members found the sound of blood humming in their ears almost deafening. A cold sweat crept to their brows, blurring their vision as the perspiration seeped to their eyes which were locked open in awaiting terror.

The time that passed thus couldn't have been more than mere moments, but for Revy, Rock, and Benny it felt like a small eternity. Finally the turquoise-eyed woman spoke, her voice shaken off of all mirth, each word being like a cube of ice sent to trickle down the necks of the Lagoon members:

"Each of you, suit yourselves. I do not want your pussyfooting nor childish anger. What I want, now, is an explanation, do you understand?"

They did.

* * *

After the depressing story was given, silence took over once more. Balalaika stood still with her eyes closed, carefully considering what she'd heard. Now that the matter had been brought out in the open, some of the tension in the air had been lifted. In fact the Lagoon members were surprised to find a hint of relief spreading inside of them, scarce and slightly misplaced though it was.

The aura around Balalaika had turned from that of ominous to contemplative, and as they now prepared to listen what she had to say, it was done in the air of neutral anticipation instead of outright horror.

"These are indeed very grave news. But alas, we mustn't give in to the temptation of idle mourning. It isn't what Dutch would've wanted nor is it fitting for his memory. But actions will be taken, of that much I can assure you."

The three of them perked their ears, curiosity momentarily overtaking their sorrow as they listened to Balalaika's conclusion:

"We will not leave the matter at this."


	3. War Ensemble

Chapter Three: War Ensemble

At the headquarters of Hotel Moscow, four parties had gathered in a small conference room. Balalaika herself as the head of the Russian Mafia branch, Mr. Chang representing the Triad in Roanapur, the whole trio of the Lagoon company, and lastly, the chief of Roanapur's police force, officer Watsup.

The business at hand was highly personal, and there had been no need to summon additional factions to discuss a plan her own forces would've been more than enough to execute. But Balalaika knew that Dutch had been a close associate, if not a friend, to many others besides herself in Roanapur. Thus it was that she had opted for a four-way co-operation with some of the main forces in the city, from both the legal as well as the openly criminal side of the law.

"As you all surely know, ladies and gentlemen, we have gathered here today because of the passing of one of the most vital members of this town's community, Dutch."

The faces in the room took upon a solemn look, not one of them having the mind to interrupt the Russian woman at this point. They remained silent instead, waiting for Balalaika to continue.

"But mourning alone will get us nowhere, and that is why I propose we take active measures to set ourselves as well as Dutch's memory at ease."

At these words, the expressions of the room's occupants began to turn more interested, wondering where the speech was going.

"It is evident that we cannot ignore the outrageousness such as what these impudent excuses of nazis have shown us. Recompense must be sought, and I believe you know very well what kind of recompense I am referring to."

If only moments ago the people gathered in room had shown little but grim seriousness on their countenances, then now the mood had changed altogether. Ominous grins split the faces of many, while to most eager ones were already baring their knuckles. Murmuring words of acceptance or nodding their consent, everybody agreed to Balalaika's words as they knew exactly what the head of Hotel Moscow had in her mind.

"A blood debt must be paid back in kind, and in this case, I believe I speak for everyone when I say that not only on or two of those vile scoundrels will be enough of a compensation for one such as Dutch."

It was all that the men in the room could do to keep from bursting in excited shouts. It was Mr. Chang who decided to speak up first, sitting in is usual style with legs crossed and a burning cigarette between his lips.

"I agree wholeheartedly. To hell with mild revenge alone, I say we take them all down to the very last man." He challenged, his voice laced with cool anger and confidence.

"Precisely", agreed Balalaika, "An extensive destruction of those vermins must be performed, and to do this, I propose that we work together."

As expected, the gestures and expressions this speech received suggested that everyone agreed to the Russian's words very eagerly. Balalaika noted, however, that not quite all shared the enthusiasm entirely.

The remaining Lagoon members, Revy, Rock, and Benny, had been surprisingly quiet throughout the entire affair. Balalaika found this disconcerting, for surely the loss of Dutch must have scathed them the deepest. One would expect them to be the most eager ones to contribute to the conversation detailing what was to be done in revenge, but apparently that was not the case. Balalaika put this to the fact that they must have been shocked, and wondered if her words just the day before had fallen on deaf ears. She certainly wouldn't put it past them, small and informal group as they were; losing a vital member and a friend from their own ranks was a concept they hadn't been prepared for.

But weakness was not to be tolerated, and Balalaika took it upon herself to pull the three of them into the conversation, even by force.

"Lagoon Company", she addressed, "What are your thoughts on the matter?"

All of them raised their heads, but only Rock, used to business-like meetings as he was, found it in himself to make a response.

"I do understand the concept of seeking retribution. With the forces at our disposal, I'm sure an operation of this nature can be executed. However, a company as small as ours, I'm afrarid we do not have much to offer in arms or manpower. Not to mention that I myself am uneducated in the ways of warfare." The Japanese ex-businessman concluded as calmly and politely as he could, nervous as he was speaking about issues he wasn't all that familiar with.

Balalaika nodded, although he recognized Rock's words for what they were immediately. Her objective in the first place had been to see whether any of them were enough in their wits to come up with a coherent reply, and in that regard, an inane speech such as Rock had delivered sufficed.

"Understandable. But we certainly do not need any more of the commodities you listed, manpower we have as well as arms to supply to them. I also recognize yours and Benny's incapability to participate in an operation such as this, but I believe there is one person among you who has the reason as well as the required skills to take part. Or am I mistaken, Rebecca?" The Russian woman concluded in a deep voice, casting a pointed glance towards the redhead.

"It is as you say, sister." Came the brief answer. To Balalaika's liking it sounded far too halfhearted, but that was not an issue to be dealt with right here and now.

"Good" She said curtly and coldly, not hiding her slight displeasure at the other woman's apparent lack of further interest. "Now that we are of the same mind as to what shall be done, I suggest that we move on to the greater details, she said.

At this moment, general Watsup saw fit to join the conversation with a question of his own.

"How long do you suppose the intruders will linger here? They got what they wanted, aren't we in a bit of a hurry if we want to make sure they don't escape from under our noses?" He grumbled lazily.

"General Watsup has a good point", Mr. Chang chimed in, "How much time do we have to put our plans into action before those bastards hightail it to safety?"

"We need not to worry in that regard. It appears our uninvited guests have decided to engage in sightseeing around the nearby port towns, thinking they can safely enjoy themselves after receiving what they came to get. My men have reported them to have been swarming around these areas, and they do not show sings of leaving in the imminent future. Thus although we mustn't sit on our arses forever, I think it's safe to say we'll have another day or two to prepare our move." The blond Russian finished, confidence radiating from her voice and posture.

"That is well then. How about the exact positioning of our forces? It wouldn't do to have us all barge in at the same time and from the same direction, now would it?" Continued Mr. Chang matter-of-factly.

"We will conduct the operation in the dead of night. My men shall take care of the water routes, while the Triad led by Mr Chang shall close in from the land. Any objections?"

"None." Stated the Chinese man with shades, a trail of mischievous satisfaction creeping into his voice. Seeing that their scheme was coming together smoothly and already imagining the havoc they would soon wreak, he began to feel very excited.

"Good. Then let us all retreat for now to make the necessary preparations at our own ends. Dismissed."

And with that, the assembled factions parted for the night.

* * *

Revy loaded and ckecked her custom Berettas, while several additional arms and magazines hung from the holsters on her shoulders. This was quite different from her usual light gear, as normally she would rely on her two handguns alone. But for this occasion, Revy was willing to step over her previous boundaries. Thus there were several grenades, small knives, and gas sprayers stocked around her body to accompany her customary weapons. Not wanting the extra weaponry to hinder her movements, the tattooed mercenary tried to not load herself overmuch. But killing she would have to do, lots of it, and thus Revy armed herself as much as she thought her skills could handle.

Rock watched all this silently by the door, standing like a lone orphan not knowing what to do. Due to his aversion towards guns and violence, taking part in what was about to happen was automatically out of the question. Benny was the same, and thus both of them would be left out of this mission. Because of this, as well as seeing how Revy was far from her usual haughty and noisy self, the look upon Rock's face was crestfallen to say the least.

Lost in his thoughts as he was, the Japanese man didn't notice that Revy had stopped putting on her guns and was now standing right before him. Haunted look in her eyes, she directed her gaze at him for a brief moment.

"Move.", came the sole command, her tone dead and cold.

Rock flinched and stepped aside, but he didn't feel comfortable with letting the redhead leave in her current state.

"What exactly is your role on this mission?" He inquired softly, letting a hint of worry into his voice yet careful not to sound too pampering.

Revy arched a bored eyebrow at this, watching the man from the corner of her eye as she disinterestedly sighed her answer:

"Same as almost everyone else's, I guess: just kill any and all enemies on sight."

The Japanese man grimaced, having anticipated a reply of that nature yet asking anyway for the sake of conversation. He decided to probe just a bit further:

"What about Dutch's body? Will you bring it back if you find it?"

"Probably" Revy shrugged as she began to walk away, deciding she was done with the useless questioning.

Rock couldn't find more excuses to hinder the woman any longer, and so all he could do was call an insecure warning at her retreating back:

"Be careful..."

* * *

Everyone was in position. The night was dark, the whole world painted in the colors of darkest blue and black. An eerie atmosphere hung in the air, with a slight fog creeping in from the sea. From her vantage point, Revy could see the black suited men of Mr. Chang stealthily roaming around the corners near the harbor. Their steps patted against the cobblestone streets, guns at the ready in their hands.

When all the preparations were finally done, the teams began to close in. Moving with a slight crouch, Revy hurried along the troops of Mr. Chang towards the ill fated and, for Revy, all too familiar Nazi ship.

The blond Russian woman gave a signal with her hand and the attack began. One of Mr. Chang's men, who'd been hiding close to the Nazi ship, fired a rocket launcher and effectively destroyed the ship's propellers and other vital parts.

The ship itself now immobilized, next in line was the command bridge. As the leader of Hotel Moscow roared the command, dozens of small anchors were shot up from the water. One after another the men in dark green uniforms climbed their way to the deck, swiftly moving towards the boat's command centre. There the Russian troops destroyed any and all communication devices, leaving the nazis with no hope to call for help or start the engines.

It was only now that the first nazis were beginning to wake up to the situation and gather up their gear. Their switching to battle mode was slow and clumsy, however, as the attack carried out by the two criminal organization leaders was too quick and effective for them to adapt in a matching speed.

With all the battling parties aware of each other, the first sounds of actual combat began to rise. The pursued nazis grabbed onto the closest guns they could find lying around, and soon the angry buzzing of submachine guns rang all around. Corpses of the fallen men from all sides began to litter the ship and its vicinity, while Aryan, Chinese, and Russian blood alike flowed freely on the decks and colored the sea.

As the battle proceeded, Revy found her movements to be heavier than usual. But it was not due to her heavier gear alone, she realized. She was on a quest for vengeance, with powerful allies on her side. But a vengeance against people, who, she grimly admitted to herself, had not committed the act for which they were now ruthlessly being slaughtered. These were not the men who had killed Dutch, as much as she would have preferred it that way. No, she was participating in a manhunt that was organized to punish others for an act she herself had actually committed.

Roughly shoving these thoughts to the back of her mind, Revy concentrated on the moment at hand and let the euphoria of battle sweep her worries away. With the barking commands of Balalaika and Mr. Chang in the background drumming in her ears, Revy plunged into the midst of chaos and set aside all thoughts, letting her body move on its own accord. But no matter how hard she tried, Revy the Two Hand did not reach her usual standard of killing that night.

* * *

The outcome of the battle was already beginning to shine clear, with the men of the two crime syndicates butchering the confused and, from Revy's and Dutch's earlier raid, already lessened nazis.

Balalaika walked calmly amidst the turmoil, carrying the legendary machine gun of her homeland's design leisurely in her hands. Her usual heavy dark green overcoat hung from her shoulders like a cape, sweeping the floor as she went. The heavy boots she wore echoed on the deck, dipping in the pools of blood and leaving crimson footprints in their wake. After a while she arrived at the door which was marked as that of the highest commander's and kicked it open with the power of a ferocious beast.

Inside, she found the commander hunched among his men, who were desperately trying to help their superior by firing at the sudden intruder. Balalaika disposed of them with ease. She fired at the chandelier on the ceiling, and the enemy commander's subordinates were crushed underneath the dropping ornament.

Balalaika walked up to the now barely alive Nazi commander, yanking him to his feet with such force his neck almost snapped. "We left a precious comrade of ours here earlier. If you do not want to die the most slow and painful death the arts of Soviet torture can muster, I suggest you tell me where he his", spoke the Russian woman in an icy monotone. The hapless fellow couldn't do but stutter something about the lowest decks, but that was all Balalaika needed. Without even a mockery of a thank you, Balalaika smashed his head against the nearest wall.

* * *

As Balalaika descended to the lowest decks, in did not take long for her to locate what she'd come to find. There, in a far corner of the dusty and clammy space, was a large human shaped bundle. As she neared it with gradual and measured steps so as to not disrespect the dead, she felt another surge of cold anger rush through her veins. Seasoned warrior as she was, it didn't take her much effort to suppress it, but it was there nevertheless. The body of Dutch now lay at her feet, wrapped in the red, white, and black of the old German swastika flag, as if to spite the man who had led a life so against their despicable beliefs.

Swiftly yet carefully Balalaika removed the flag from around the Vietnam War veteran's body. To her relief she found that the nazis had done no further additional damage to her beloved comrade's remains. Despite the stinging smell of decomposing flesh that had begun to emanate from the body, the Russian woman lifted the heavy man in her arms without wrinkling her nose and began to walk away.

Lined on either side by her own men, Balalaika took the burden of carrying the dead man in her arms all the way through. The soldiers of Hotel Moscow took thorough care that no enemy fire hindered her way. The last of the nazis were beginning to fall down as the men of both leaders joined their gradual retreat from the ship. As the Russian commander passed by, the men of both Balalaika and Mr. Chang took position behind her back. She led them out of the ship and carried Dutch's body all the while. Her subordinates fired at the enemy troops behind her back wherever they appeared.

When Balalaika stepped out of the ship, she found outside the night to be swimming in the colors of police car lights. As expected, chief Watsup had brought dozens of his own policemen to guard the outside of the ship as the operation went on. Over the course of the night he had informed all curious by passers that it was "a police operation, please step aside for your own safety, there is nothing here to see". The local police force had been told about the matter beforehand, with a hefty monetary reward insuring they wouldn't intrude on the project.

"I trust that there have been no problems?" Balalaika inquired sternly.

"No madam, everything has gone well according to plan." Answered the corrupt police officer without a care in the world.

"Excellent.", Balalaika acknowledged with a nod and brushed past the man, exchanging no further words with him. With a glance to her side, Balalaika noticed that the purple haired woman had also made it back safe and sound.

"Two Hand", she called, "Will you need a ride home?"

Before the woman in question could utter a response, the Triad leader did the answering for her.

"I can take care of that", chimed Mr. Chang, his voice cheerful due to the successful slaughter that had even offered him some excitement.

"I believe an occasion like this calls for a celebration, and seeing that you, Miss Balalaika, may have other things on your mind", He paused with a solemn glance at the body in the Russian woman's arms, "it may be for the best that I'll be hosting for darling Rebecca tonight. Right, Revy?" He concluded with a cheerful call over his shoulder at the redhead.

"Yeah..that sounds like a plan", and with Revy's somewhat halfhearted agreement, all the parties of the now concluded operation retreated from the scene to their own ways.

* * *

Balalaika sat down at her desk, removing the green hat from her head and sighing heavily. The day had been hard and rough, with the operation to avenge Dutch and retrieve his body as the main event. Thankfully it had been agreed beforehand that general Watsup would deal with the aftermath, leaving the leader of Hotel Moscow and the others participating in the operation free for the rest of the night.

When they had arrived back at Roanapur, Balalaika had immediately tasked her specialized subordinates to perform an autopsy and report the results to her as quickly as possible. With her duties now fulfilled, Balalaika closed her eyes and leant back in her chair in a relaxed manner.

_You may rest in peace now, Dutch._

Her moment of respite didn't grow long, however, as a knock on the door soon interrupted her in her reverie. "Come in", she called as she fixed her posture.

The door opened, admitting a man wearing a long doctor's overcoat.

"Ma'am. The autopsy has been completed. As was expected by the appearance of the body, the cause of death was a single bullet fired straight to the heart", the man explained his presence.

"I see. And the bullet?" Queried Balalaika calmly.

"We have extracted it, and I have it here with me right now" answered the man, motioning towards the small metallic platter he was carrying.

"Very well. Leave it here, and after that, you are dismissed."

The man nodded and took a few even steps towards her, placing the platter at the edge of the table. Then he retreated, giving a slight bow before turning and closing the door.

Balalaika pulled a single glove from the drawer of her desk and raised to bullet to the level of her eyes, inspecting it carefully.

A moment, then another. Momentarily Balalaika's eyes, so uncharacteristically for her, widened in shock. Her decades spent close to warfare had taught her much about firearms, and she recognized the bullet she held between her fingers instantly. And she knew of only one person in Roanapur who wielded a gun to which the bullet in question matched. Her eyes narrowing, a murderous growl rose from her throat, carrying the name of the person she now knew to be the real instigator behind Dutch's death.

**"**_Revy..."_


	4. Burden

Chapter Four: Burden

On the following morning, Revy woke up next to the sleeping form of Mr. Chang.

Gradually she blinked her eyes open, and immediately after doing so, she wished she hadn't. The headache that followed her wakefulness was so profound she thought her head would split apart any second. Thus she spent the next few moments solely in trying to get the hammers that seemed to be pounding in her head under control. When the pain had subsided enough that she deemed it safe to try again, Revy slid her eyes open once more, this time with such care and tenderness she'd rarely shown to anything.

This time the effort paid off, and she could actually manage herself to a sitting position. As she brought her hand to her head and let out a low groan, bits and pieces of memories of last night began to come back to her.

After the annihilation of the nazis had been successfully brought to a close, Revy had found herself in the company of the Chinese triad leader, Mr. Chang. The original plan was for him to take Revy back home, but of course the excited and happy man couldn't let the night end without a proper celebration of a job done well. Thus it came as no surprise that the pair had gone off to the Chinese man's residence for a private party.

A party that had not lacked the appropriate serving. Ranging from the softest of beers to the strongest of whiskeys, the liquor cabinet of Mr. Chang was ample and generous. And the two of them had not been ashamed to indulge themselves.

Thus the night had proceeded on, with the freely flowing booze eventually lulling them to a state of light headedness and prompting them to reminisce about the times past. Laughs had been shared at the memories of their adventures, cheers had been made at the union between the master and the apprentice.

In the midst of merry recollections, the pair had been reminded to their mutual respect and fancy for each other. And from there the trail had led to the inevitable. With a quick glance at the nakedness of the man beside her and the slight throbbing that lingered between her legs, Revy didn't need to recall last night's events any further to figure out just what had happened.

With another groan that this time had very little to do with her headache, the redhead proceeded to get out of the bed and pick up her clothes.

She had intended to dress quickly and get out of the place as soon as possible without alerting the Chinese man, but at the light chuckling of the man in question behind her, Revy saw those hopes swiftly blown away.

"In a bit of a hurry now aren't we, Revy?" Mr. Chang chided her with a mixture of amusement and reproach.

Embarrassment surged through Revy, and despite the flush on her cheeks, she found it in herself to turn slightly towards the man as she spilled out the first excuse coming to her mind.

"W-well, I gotta get back to the office sometime, lest I worry my dear comrades, don't you think?"

"Although in your situation, I guess I can kind of see why you would want to scramble as fast as you can and as far away as possible", the Chinese man spoke up while ignoring Revy's words completely, before continuing:

"Seeing as you just last night duped Balalaika for good and left the evidence of your little lie literally dangling in her hands. Tsk tsk, that was mighty careless." Mr. Chang concluded nonchalantly with a hearty laughter.

Revy was rendered speechless. Had she told the truth to the other man in her drunken state last night? But before she could utter a word to ask about the matter, Mr. Chang had already guessed the question by the look on her face and made to answer, still in a good natured tone.

"Oh yes, last night you poured your heart and soul out to boot. It was actually kind of cute to see you flustered like that and almost close to tears. I was really touched, you know, albeit a good deal surprised as well, ha ha" Mr. Chang seemed completely unfazed and carefree as he made his speech, seeing as there seemed to be no end to his mirth.

Revy had trouble discerning whether the man was really in such a good mood or if he was mocking her. Both confused by his behaviour as well as terrified that her secret was out in the open, Revy decided it was best to discard all her shame and gamble to see if she could make use out of the situation.

"Well then..since you seem to understand my position here, how about you lend me some of that good spirit of yours. You know, like, help get the hell out of this town, for starters?"

The laughter died on the Chinese man's lips, and he had the decency to adapt a solemn look on his face as he gave his answer.

"I'm afraid I can't do any such thing for you, Revy." He began, scratching at the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"You see, as much as I would like to, going against Hotel Moscow is just something too dangerous and really not in the best interest of me and my organization. It's not just my life on the line here, but the whole gang's gonna suffer if I make a careless move, so..." Mr. Chang trailed off with a shrug and a sad smile.

For a moment, the feelings of cold rage, shame, and self-loathing almost overcame Revy. Millions of thoughts of lashing out at the man shot through her mind. She quenched them on the last minute, however, after one of the most violent inner struggles she'd ever been through. Together, they had enjoyed a bloodbath last night, after which they'd drunk together, after which they'd fucked. It was as simple as that, and Revy felt another pang of hatred for herself for even thinking of trying to plea to something as nonexistent as...

_Love?_

One of the words she'd grown to hate and loathe so much. What love? The kind of love her parents had shown her, casting her aside when she was but a child? Her earliest memories were of herself with a gun in her hand, fighting to survive and for no one else.

Or perhaps the kind of love she'd had every now and then, with men like the one who was grinning stupidly at her from the bed this very moment? Excursions of one night, always accompanied by a great dose of any and all intoxicants, forgotten before the night was even over.

Love indeed.

Revy fastened the belt of her short trousers, correcting her posture the best she could. Fighting down the nausea of her hangover, humiliation, and, despite trying to deny it, the slight feeling of betrayal, she bid her farewell.

"I see. Have a nice day then, boss."

Without saying another word, Revy left the apartment.

* * *

The cellar was dark and damp, with the smell of mold on the walls thick in the air. A single light bulb hung from the ceiling, swaying slightly at the end of a thin cord. Both of their hands were tied together behind their backs, their legs having likewise been chained to the foremost legs of the chairs they'd been put to sit on.

This was a part of the Hitel Moscow headquarters neither of them had ever seen, and they weren't the least bit delighted by discovering it now either. Circumstances being as they were, the two of them waited with growing dread of what was to come.

In short, Rock and Benny had never been this terrified in their lives. Neither Rock's memories of being captured by the Lagoon company seemingly ages ago nor Benny's mishaps with the FBI on the other side of the world could compare to this; with Rock, he'd at least known his captors' intentions when he'd been taken hostage, and Benny had been rescued by Revy on the last minute. No such comforts were offered to either of them on this occasion, however: Rock had no idea of what was going on and it seemed very unlikely that anybody was going to come for them.

It had all started just few hours ago well past midnight. Both men had given up on trying to stay awake to see Revy come back, and when they had already retired for bed, the door to their office had been knocked down without warning. Armed men who Rock and Benny recognized to be those of Balalaika's burst in and forcibly dragged them away without a word of explanation, and here they were.

Finally the door to the nauseatingly threatening basement creaked open, admitting the person who could both give them the answers they needed and at the same time deliver them to doom unimaginable.

As Balalaika walked towards them, the sharp heels of her shoes echoed ominously on the damp cobblestones. She was again dressed in her usual regalia consisting of a large dark green overcoat and a formal suit of wine color underneath.

The woman stopped not two meters away from them, and for a while, all she did was fix them with a glare that froze the two men in place, both ceasing their small fidgeting and struggling against their bindings.

As the tension of the evident staring contest finally overcame Rock, he blurted out the first words issuing from his mind.

"G-good morning, Miss Balalaika! I-I'm afraid I don't quite grasp the situation; for what reason have we brought here in this manner? And-"

"It is me who will do the questioning, Okajima Rokuro. Do not even think to assume otherwise."

What little hopes Rock had entertained for a casual conversation or things being solved simply died at the icy tone in Balalaika's words. His mouth remained open in shock, and he only remembered how to use it when the insanity of the situation hit him in full. In order to give anything himself, he needed to have at least some answers.

"Please, Miss Balalaika you have to understa..."

A sharp stinging pain cut across his face as the sound of Balalaika's raw backhanded slap rang in the void space.

"You are in no position to demand anything of me, is that understood!?" The Russian woman growled to emphasize her point.

It was rare to see Balalaika losing her composure and being this passionate about anything, which alone gave Rock a pause. Indeed understanding finally that there were no words with which to plea with the elder woman, Rock ground his teeth together and gave the slightest of nods.

Balalaika seemed to cool down instantly as she nodded in return and proceeded, in a far more civil manner than just moments ago:

"Good. Now, what I want to know is in fact very simple, and depending on the level of your co-operation, we may be able to wrap this up in a pleasantly short time."

Hope flared in the two bound men yet again, and both of them corrected their posture, signaling that they were ready to hear what the woman had to say and would do their utmost to answer properly. Balalaika, on her part, took a deep breath and asked a single question, putting weight on every word so as to deliver the message as clearly as possible:

"Where is Revy?"

It was as if a damp cloth had been thrown on the flames of hope of the two men. Both of them exchanged looks, blinked a couple of times, and, as it had grown to be the custom over the interrogation, Rock was the one to give the answer. An answer they well knew was the worst they could give, even though it was the truth:

"We don't know."

Balalaika closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, after which she released the air in her lungs with a long sigh. Then she opened her eyes yet again and snapped her fingers. Instantly two of her subordinates came from behind her, stopping right in front of the two prisoners.

The next thing Benny and Rock knew, their lungs had been emptied and a choking pain spread in their midsections by the blows the guards gave them.

Without sparing a glance at the agony playing before her eyes, Balalaika lit a cigar and addressed the hapless men again.

"You are a diplomat yourself Rock, surely you know that such answers won't do at all in these sort of affairs." Balalaika regarded without emotion the men lying on the floor and gasping for breath, before continuing:

"Now, are you willing to search you memory more thoroughly, or do you require more of the assistance my men just gave you to remember?" There was no mockery nor special coldness in Balalaika's words, she was simply stating the fact of the matter.

Rock gasped for breath yet again, collecting his thoughts before making to answer:

"Revy did not come home nor call us after last night's operation. All we know is what Boris told us over the phone, that the operation was a success and Miss Rebecca and gone off with Mr. Chang. Beyond that, we are quite uninformed about the current situation."

"Ah, yes indeed, Mr. Chang did make the kind offer to take your beloved Two Hand home. We have contacted him, just in case, and the good fellow reported to have done just that. What have you to say?" Replied Balalaika, her tone once again acquiring an ominous tone.

The two men were silent for a moment, and when it appeared that Rock had lost is willingness and ability to utter words he knew would be futile, it was Benny who took the task of speaking up.

"I'm sorry, but we haven't seen her since moments before she left for the mission yesterday."

The only sings Balalaika gave of her frustration were casting the cigar she'd smoked only for a while to the ground and smashing it under her heel. Then she turned around swiftly, her large overcoat swishing in her wake, and spoke to the two guards that had accompanied her:

"Well, then. Report back to me immediately if either of them say something of use. Until then, I leave their handling to your discretion." And with that the Russian woman made for the door, pulling it shut. The room's occupants were left under the cold illumination of the lone ligh bulb.

The screams of the two Lagoon members didn't make it past the cellar's thick walls.

* * *

Revy watched the statue of crucified Jesus Christ that hung above the altar. Head drooped and hands nailed to the sides, the prophet from two thousand years back was indeed a miserable sight. Revy had never been much of a religious person, but every now and then she caught herself indulging in the morbid fascination of reflecting on the idiocy of the whole concept.

The woman herself was sitting amongst the long rows of wooden benches, legs crossed and arms akimbo in her lap. The church around her was getting dark, with the growing dusk outside deepening and lengthening its shadows. The air was warm and stuffy, with the smoke from her cigarette only adding to it. She had been sitting there for a while now, quietly in wait for the person who now loudly and obnoxiously made her presence known.

"Oy there, Revy! Sure is fancy seeing you in a place like this for once, especially when I haven't even called you over for a drink." Eda taunted, her nun attire still on, familiar pink shades covering her eyes, and the irksome smacking of chewing gum issuing from her mouth.

"Screw you" Revy called back at her lazily, her exhausted mind not having the energy of coming up with anything better.

The other woman let out a loud _hmph_ before taking seat next to her. Without a care in the world she took the gum out of her mouth and plastered it at the bottom of the bench they were sitting on. Soon the gum was placed with a lit cigarette as the blond woman took a deep breath of it.

"So, what brings you here?" She asked, her tone surprisingly serious.

"I'm sure you've heard." Revy replied, her tone emotionless and grave.

"About you being the one who offed Dutch? Yeah, you're basically the talk of the town right now. So, what, all else has failed you and you've decided to finally discard your evil ways and seek the guidance of our Lord, hm?"

"It's not a joking matter here, damn it! Balalaika is all but surely arranged a manhunt for me, so ain't no way I'd waste my time on something as useless as that."

For a while, the two remained completely silent, both knowing what was to come next but neither willing to take the initiative. As if to provoke the helpless woman only further, Eda was the one to break the silence with a question only humiliating Revy even more.

"So what is it, then?" She said while casually puffing a cloud smoke out of her mouth.

Revy grit her teeth. She knew very well the other woman was playing stupid, but she was in no position to hold on to her pride and retort at her because of that.

"I need your help", she finally managed to growl through her teeth.

"How much?" Eda asked without skipping a beat.

"Oh, nothing too major, just help me find a way to get out of this town or hide somewhere, and I'll be sure to-"

"Not that, moron. I meant how much will you pay me just for not handing you over to Balalaika myself and collecting the bounty, let alone do anything to help you." Eda replied shamelessly, her tone a peculiar mixture of cold business and taunt.

Revy felt a flush of anger rise up her neck, but she bit it back with force once again. Of course, this was the corrupt Church of Violence, where everything was decided with a price, first and foremost. Revy scolded herself for having forgotten that in her stressed state of mind and haste to get help.

"I haven't got much on me at the moment, but if we manage to get back to the office unnoticed, I'm sure I can scour up a few grands-"

Revy's words got cut off again, this time by a mighty bark of laughter from the fake nun.

"Rebecca, dearest, surely you know that this is Hotel Moscow we're talking about. I wouldn't lift a finger against them for the pennies you're talking about, to say nothing of doing something as outrageous as help the killer of their leader's close comrade to escape." She lectured her nonchalantly, not seeming to have the slightest qualms of refusing to aid her peer because of the lack of money.

Revy sat aghast, letting the waves of humiliation, disappointment and anger wash over her. So distracted she was that she didn't notice the ash from her forgotten cigarette dropping on the wooden bench and staining it, barely registering the nun's complaints about destroying the church's property. She and Eda had known each other for a long time, and although it appeared that they never quite seemed to get along with each other, Revy hadn't exactly minded how some people took the liberty of referring to their relationship as...

_Friendship?_

Again, one of the words she could imagine those _other_ kind of people using. Flusteredly Revy wondered when the hell had she let such an empty word enter her vocabulary. Of course she'd met people she didn't consider as enemies over the years, but in the end, it all came down to just herself fighting alone her way through the hell that was life. The closest she'd got to others' perception of friendship was her camaraderie with Dutch, and along his death had died her last ideas of any deeper companionship.

Revy shot up from her seat. On her way to the church's aisle she stopped right next to where Eda sat. Without even looking at the woman she took the cigarette out of her mouth and stumped it on the nun's headpiece.

"Thanks for nothing", she said as she continued walking away.

"Be sure to contribute to the common good!" Eda called leisurely after the departing redhead, motioning towards the small chest where the alms of the church-goers were gathered.

Revy complied, spitting in the chest on her way out.

* * *

Scrambling through the dark alleyways of Roanapur, Revy roamed the city without specific destination or purpose in mind.

In hindsight, she knew she should've made her plans of escaping the city, whatever they would've been and wherever they might have taken her, last night at the latest. In fact, she knew she should have taken leave of the accursed city as soon as she got back from that fatal mission with Dutch only a few days ago, _god has it been such a short time, _she wondered inwardly as she hunched among the shadows.

From her viewing point, she could see the neon lights of the main streets just few paces away. The night pulsed with sinful life as it always had. The prostitutes posing and offering themselves on the sidewalks, she thought she could even recognize some of them. Those dark suited men standing guard in front of the entrances to some richer places where the more wealthier gang leaders were either holding their meetings or just plain relaxing. _Or they could be patrolling in search of me. _She thought with some trepidation.

Revy pressed herself against the damp and cool wall of the building next to her, closing her eyes and letting her body slide down to a sitting position.

She had to think, but her options were short. She had some varying contacts across the town, but she was doubtful if any of them had not already been contacted and bribed or threatened by Hotel Moscow in case she tired to look for their aid. She could try to sneak back to the Lagoon office, but she was certain it had been the first place her pursuers had gone to look for her. Besides, the only means of transport there were their meagre car and the torpedo boat, both of which wouldn't get her too far; the car wold run out of gas or be recognized, most probably both, and she didn't have enough knowledge how to operate the boat.

Even though her first musings didn't take her to a satisfying conclusion, Revy decided that doing nothing was the worst possible solution. Thus she tore herself from her dormancy and got up quickly, only to bump into someone in her haste. She stumbled a few paces but managed to keep herself upright. Normally this would merit her shooting curses and insults at the other person, but at the moment she was too preoccupied to think much of it.

"Watch where you're going, will you?" Revy opted for the simple retort, before hastily turning and heading again deeper into the shadows.

But she was stopped by a large and extremely strong had grabbing her by the wrist. She made to snap back and look at the intruder, only to have her head firmly pushed against the building's wall. From behind her back she could hear a deep male voice speak:

"Miss Rebecca of the Black Lagoon, I believe Captain Balalaika would have a word with you."

Outright horror froze Revy on her tracks. As the man holding her delivered a powerful strike to the back of her head, the last thing her mind registered before falling into oblivion was the scarred face of Sergeant Boris looming over her.


	5. Deliverance

Final Chapter: Deliverance

As Revy drifted back to consciousness, she found herself in the same dark basement where, unbeknownst to her, Rock and Benny had been held just few hours before. Both of her hands were chained to the wall above her head, restricting her movements heavily. A lingering headache throbbed at the back of her head, and as Revy sat in the darkness alone, she had a lot of time to think of all that had happened over the past few days.

She thought about Benny. The technology expert of their small delivery company had been the thorn in her flesh long before the Japanese ex-business man had joined them. In time she'd gotten over her apprehension towards the blond newcomer, and since then she'd easily grown to accept him as a part of their team. Benny had always been the mellow man around, never feeling drawn towards the violent ways of Dutch and Revy. Benny had also been the odd man out, preferring the company of computers and machines to that of fellow humans. During the entire affair of Dutch's demise, Benny had acted like the one who had himself together the most. He hadn't broken down in tears in front of them like Rock, nor had he thrown violent tantrums at the slightest of provocations like Revy. In fact, the bespectacled blond man had been the most reasonable one of them all. He had been the one to try to tame Revy when she was at her worst, directing them on their first course of action when they'd begun to regroup. Idly Revy wondered if, with his calm and collected exterior, he'd hid his sorrow from their eyes and dealt with his agony alone.

She thought about Rock. From the beginning, Revy had never grown quite accustomed to the soft man's presence. Although she'd been the one to take him hostage and proposed him to join them, she'd realized later on that she didn't know how to really deal with him. True to his nature, he'd been the first one out of them to make an attempt to bring them back together after Dutch's death. Revy had effectively quenched his willingness to do so again by the verbal beating she had given him. He had, however, never given up on expressing that he really cared. He had been there to speak for them when Balalaika had summoned them together, and he had shown his concern over Revy's wellbeing on numerous occasions. But no matter how hard he tried, she'd always brushed him aside without a second thought. Looking back, Revy felt a slight tinge of guilt over her interactions with the man.

She thought about Dutch. From the moment the two of them hooked up all those years ago, she'd felt a sense of connection and respect towards the black war veteran. Both of them were apt with guns, both of them shared for the most part the same views on the world, and both of them had similar ideas about how things needed to be done. It never grew nowhere near to outright idolizing, but her acknowledgement of the man went deep enough so as to recognize him as the leader of the company she worked for willingly.

And she had killed him.

A newfound shock washed over Revy as she thought about the event for the thousandth time. The memory had turned into a blurry and disgusting image in her mind. A single, horrific moment in time during which she'd committed the most outrageous miscalculation of her life. And all that the damage required to be done was a single bullet and a simple lie afterwards. Truly, she began to muse half-jokingly and half-seriously, she should've taken out a page or two out of the diplomatic Japanese man's book somewhere along the way. The thought was so ludicrous and ironical that she couldn't help the gurgling hiss of laughter that bubbled up from her throat.

Her amusement bordering on hysteria was abruptly brought to a halt, however, as the door on the wall across from Revy opened and in walked her own angel of death.

When the woman had entered and nothing happened for a while, Revy slowly resigned to lifting her eyes to the familiar scarred face, lined by rich cascades of brilliant gold hair.

"So you're awake", commented the Russian woman, her tone surprisingly emotionless.

Revy decided to ignore the observation, deeming that no answer of hers was required.

Balalaika sighed and went to retrieve a folded metallic chair that leant against a wall. Bringing it a few paces away from Revy, she took a seat and the silence continued.

"An explanation, Revy, will not do you any good at this point. But we are old acquaintances, so if it eases your mind to give me one, I will listen", the blond Mafia leader finally spoke, her voice soft and without the barest hint of malice or hatred.

Truth be told, Balalaika was tired. From the moment she'd first heard about Dutch's demise, a piece of her heart, if only the slightest one, had yet again been torn away. Honest and straight-backed companions such as the Afro-American war veteran were few and war between in this business, in this corner of the world, and in this day and age. Although nothing too special, she had developed a strong camaraderie with the man, and having lost him had really been a blow to her, even if she herself didn't know its whole magnitude at first.

What had drove her so fiercely onward on those first moments after she'd heard the news, was the sheer rage and conviction to seek retribution and justice for the deceased. But after the punishment on the supposed culprits was done, her moment of respite had been brief. The true events behind Dutch's death had been revealed, igniting the flames of rage within her tenfold. And now, when all was truly said and done and the truth had been brought to light, she discovered she didn't feel the least bit elated about it. Her close comrade had been killed by another one, and what was left for her to do was to see the matter to its end. Now all she wanted was to get it over with promptly and without additional fussing.

Balalaika met the other woman's gaze. It was calm and dispassionate, yet the posture of her head and the tightening around her chin gave her just the slightest hint of defiance and pride.

Since the redhead gave no signal that an answer was forthcoming on her part, Balalaika gave an understanding nod and inquired, just to make things sure:

"So there will be no hard feelings?"

"None at all." The almost immediate answer carried an air of both challenge and resignation, heralding that the short exchange of words was reaching its end.

"So be it, then", Balalaika concluded, mirroring Revy's finality and sternness with her tone.

The sound of the closing door echoed in the darkness for a while after Balalaika had left.

* * *

The moment of liberation had come for Rock and Benny as abruptly as their captivation. After the guards had roughly interrogated them for a good while over information they did not possess, they had ceased their beating to go wash their hands clean of all the blood. During this morbid pause the news for their release had come. None in the ranks of Hotel Moscow had offered them the least of explanations, and all they had to go by were the words of Balalaika that the matter had been solved. The Russian woman did not even appear to be sorry for them, stating only that she regretted the misunderstanding. They had, however, been offered proper medical care and taken back to their own office.

But just when they had dared to hope that the matter with Dutch had been brought to a closure, they now found themselves filled with as many questions as they had bruises on their bodies.

First of all, there was the issue with Revy. Neither Rock nor Benny knew anything about her whereabouts, for the woman had not come back to them after the mission with the nazis was completed. Ironically in fact, the most curious detail they now knew about her was what they had learned during their own interrogation: that Mr. Chang had accompanied her after the annihilation was over, and that the man had lied about where he'd taken her. But even though this piqued their anger and interest, it did not explain why Balalaika was so eager to know their female companion's location and why, after having extracted nothing of value out of them, she'd let Rock and Benny go.

In short, both men were utterly lost as to what in the world was going on.

"What do you suppose has happened?" Benny asked his companion in an incredulous voice, tending a pack of ice to a large bruise on his cheek.

"It's really hard to tell, since Balalaika wasn't in the mood to share any of her information with us." Rock answered carefully, trying not to prick at an equally nasty cut just below his lower lip.

"Well she sure as hell made it clear we weren't in any position to ask her", Benny snorted, his tone carrying a justified note of bitterness.

"The thing is, she told us that she'd contacted Mr. Chang, who said he'd taken her to us." Rock offered, trying to soothe the other man.

"Well, the man was obviously lying. What the hell was he trying to hide anyway, and why?" Benny huffed, the mention of the Chinese man only serving on infuriate him further.

Rock seemed to ponder this for a moment, while Benny took a seat on the couch and sat sternly, a mixture of malice and thoughtfulness adorning his features. The situation was a complete enigma to them. Finally they seemed to reach the same conclusion, and as Rock spoke up, it seemed that Benny had already guessed his words.

"I guess there's no other way to find out; we must contact Mr. Chang."

Benny jumped to his feet, taking a few quick strides towards the phone and beginning to dial the Triad leader's number.

After a few minutes of uneventful silence, Benny put the phone back in its place and turned towards Rock with growing frustration emanating from his words.

"Its no use, he isn't picking up."

"It's only to be expected, I guess. After all, if there's some bigger picture behind this that he's got mixed up in, I figure he'd be too busy to take many phone calls." Rock reasoned, having not been too hopeful from the start.

"That's true, I guess. But what the heck are we supposed to do now?" Benny seethed, chewing furiously at his lips.

The two fell once again into thoughtful silence. Both of them had been brutally tortured by the organization they considered their ally, and the only question they seemed to be interested in was Revy's location. Which they did not know. And as suddenly as they'd been taken in, they'd been released for no apparent reason. Something was going on, and Rock didn't feel like it was something he or Benny should miss out from.

"For now, I think we should go to Mr. Chang's place, just to make sure we're not able to reach him in any way." Rock answered after a while.

Benny nodded curtly, having expected no less.

"I'll go get the car."

* * *

"You guys look terrible." Mr Chang exclaimed dramatically, sporting a feigned look of horror on his face.

The two men of the Lagoon company were in no mood for lithe small talk. After driving to the Chinese Triad leader's hideout, Rock and Benny had discovered that the man was indeed there. The reason he hadn't answered the phone, however, was nothing but plain crankiness due to his peculiar nature.

Now the only thing Rock and Benny wanted were answers, and they wanted them immediately.

"What's going on?" They demanded sternly in unison.

The Chinese man sighed heavily, dropping his disguise of nonchalance.

"It's going to be an ugly story, boys. You sure you wanna hear it?"

The glares the two men sent him told that he wouldn't have even needed to ask.

"Okay, I guess there's no sugarcoating it, then. Revy was the one who killed Dutch, Balalaika found out about it, and, by the looks of it, decided to have a chat with you two."

A shocked silence fell over the men like a heavy cloak. Rock and Benny stood aghast, obviously having trouble processing the words they'd just heard.

"C-could you repeat that?" Rock finally managed to stammer out.

"Look, I don't know the full details myself, but the thing is that by some bizarre accident, Revy ended up offing Dutch." Mr. Chang explained impatiently, not wanting to be bombarded with further questions as the truth sank in for Rock and Benny.

But his fears were unfounded, for the two remaining men of the Lagoon Company were hardly paying him attention anymore.

So it had been _Revy_.

Now everything began to fall into place. Why the woman had been so freaked out right after she came from the Nazi ship. Why she had had the most trouble adjusting to the new situation, why she had been constantly on the edge, and why she had seemed disinterested and insecure about everything regarding the vengeance for Dutch.

Of course, one could only stand it so much with a burden such as Revy had carried.

In the midst of their feelings of shock and betrayal, however, no anger entered their minds, so overwhelmingly scandalous the news were to them.

"Where do you suppose she is now?" Exclaimed Benny as they finally remembered they were in the middle of a conversation with the Chinese man.

"From the fact that you've been set free, I would assume Balalaika has already found your comrade and perhaps dealt with her as well." Shrugged Mr Chang, though a faint hint of regret could be seen through his carefree act.

Catching the ominous premonition in the Chinese man's words, both Rock and Benny made to dash out from the place, already planning on paying a visit to the Russian woman.

They didn't make it far, however, as Mr. Chang shouted a command and instantly two armed men in black suits blocked their way.

"It's useless, you two. Revy has made a huge mistake, both in the way that she killed Dutch and in doing so, she made Balalaika along with Hotel Moscow her enemy. Now it's a matter that can be settled only between them alone. Your intruding will likely just get you killed." He reasoned, understanding their plight and trying to make them see things as they were.

Mr. Chang's effort wasn't appreciated, however, as the countenances of the two Lagoon members were taken over by defiance and anger. But by the time they made to answer, their resolution had already been dimmed by comprehension.

"So you would leave her in the hands of those maniacs just like that?" Rock growled, clinging to the diminishing feelings of rage inside of him.

Despite the look in the Japanese man's eyes which suggested that he wasn't entirely sure of himself anymore, Mr. Chang decided to respect their evident agony with an actual answer.

"Like I said, it's now an issue between them alone. None of us are in the position to be judges in this affair, and from what I've grown to know Revy, I think she would agree to this as well."

Rock and Benny stood rigidly in place, still slightly shaking from anger and frustration.

"Come now, let us all sit down and wait for a contact from Miss Balalaika herself, I'm sure she'll clarify the situation sooner or later."

Their shoulders slumping in resignation, Rock and Benny decided to heed the Chinese man's advice.

* * *

Outside, the day had begun to wane. Even through the tinted glass of one of the Hotel Moscow's cars, Revy could see that the daylight became more scarce by the minute. The entourage was very small and informal, with Revy and a few of Balalaika's subordinates in one while the Russian woman herself along with Sergeant Boris occupied the vehicle driving in front of them.

Before setting out on this drive, Revy had been offered a final meal. The glass of water she'd had to wash it down had been a bit weird in taste, but it had been nothing to complain about. Oddly, she'd began to feel a bit light headed soon afterwards. Thus when the guards had come to collect her from the basement, she hadn't posed the slightest question or resistance. As they drove all the way through the vacant roads of the outskirts of Roanapur, Revy had slipped into a careless daze where she felt nothing, no expectation, no dread, no urge to fight - nothing.

Revy's state of awareness rose slightly as she realized the car driving in front of them had come to a halt, consequently causing the driver sitting in front of her to press down the brakes as well. At a sign from Balalaika, who had gotten out of her car along with Boris, the men in the same vehicle as Revy swiftly opened the doors and stepped out. Soon she could hear, and feel by the sudden gust of air, the door right next to her open, and the guard standing there motioned for her to get out.

"We're here", she distantly heard Balalaika calling over to her.

Revy did as she was told. Awkwardly she rose to her feet, which where slightly wobbling due to the long time she'd spent without using them. The odd feeling of exhaustion weighed down upon her as well.

Once outside, Revy found the evening to be peaceful and quiet. The sound of the serenely streaming nearby river hummed in the background, while the wind blew with pleasant warmth. The scenery surrounding her was bathing in the pastel colors of twilight, and when Revy directed her gaze upwards, the found herself staring at a cloudless, vast expanse of sky that oddly resembled a purpling bruise by its color.

The guard standing behind Revy ushered her forward, holding her hands behind her back in a firm yet not painful grip.

"Bring her here..."

"Hold her steady..."

"There's no need to use such force..."

The orders rumbled all around her, but her hazy mind didn't bother to grasp on any of them. She let herself to be led without resistance until she stumbled on something on the ground. Lowering her gaze, she could make out a wooden box laying at her feet.

Her curiosity slightly piqued, she decided to take in her surroundings more carefully. When she saw the rope dangling some ways above her head, everything became clear.

But whether it was the fact that she truly recognized the gravity of her actions and accepted the due justice, or the powerful sedative Balalaika had administered in her drink beforehand, Revy did not feel anything. Only a slightest touch of relief rose in her heart at the certainty that her nightmare was soon to be over. She stole one final look at the magnificent void opening above her, suddenly deciding that this was as close to heaven as she would ever get.

Leaving the woes of the world behind, the woman stepped onto the dais set before her, rising to meet the waiting noose that swayed gently in the wind.

_**The End**_


End file.
